Straight up... cheap easy way to gain decent horsepower

CAI...Exhaust...headers.... what is the best way?

 

Horsepower isn't ever really cheap. Real gains- Super charger and a good tune...

Decent gains- Remove excess weight, better air filter, higher flow muffler....All the basics...

 

$$$=horsepower! effin sucks!

 

throttle body spacers

 

lol

 

hey, just curious not relating to the post but tac1... coast guard right? where you stationed?

 

Like someone above said, "wud ya wanna spend"?

I've summarized the performance upgrades that I am aware of as follows:

Notes:
o I have not pulled the trigger on any of these as yet, playing with an air intake mod, swapped in an electric fan, but that's it
o data is from research I've done, and what I've seen others have done, summary is my own, opinions and order is my own
o some combinations of mods make sense, others don't, I'm not even going to attempt that list
o multiple mods are rarely totally cummulative, i.e., CAI+CB+MAF does not equal +15hp ***

Group 1 ($250-400 each):
o Aftermarket CAI - 3-5 hp at top end, gain/loss is intake "growl/noise" depending on your stand
o Cat-back exhaust - 3-5 hp at top end, gain/loss is exhaust note, hard to gauge what sounds good to you personally, may be too loud/droney, or too quiet
o URD MAF Calibrator - 5 hp +/- - I'm least up on the gains for this one, you'll need to do more research

Group 2 ($500 +/- each)
o Headers - 15-20 hp - LT or shorties, decision depends on where you want the power (high-rpm or low rpm) and how much to spend, LTs require O2 sims, shorties require the cats to be welded on
o Y-pipe - 10 hp ?? - I'm least up-to-speed on the true gains here, need to watch out for an annoying rasp if using the Y-pipe and LTs

Group 3 ($1300, not supported on 09+ yet)
o APR X-1 - 20-25hp - complete control over ECU maps, includes exhaust cam gear upgrade, should equate to more power across the rpm band due to tunability

Group 4 ($3500-5000 depending on who installs)
o TRD/URD supercharger - 50-60 hp or so - it's an SC, power should come on from off-idle to redline

Group 0.5 (forgot it earlier... $50-100 each)
o drop-in air filter (i.e., AFE Pro-Dry) - ?? hp, probably somewhere between 0-1
o cut in a muffler - 2-3 hp (or -hp depending on muffler), get the CB sound at significantly less cost

Personally, if I were to pull the trigger right now I would do some combination of Group 2 and 3 depending on funding levels. I don't see the benefit of Group 1, and don't particularly want to invest to the Group 4 level.